The pins of the components such as integrated circuit chips are usually frangible, and the chips are generally fragile. Accordingly, these chips must be handled with some degree of care. As a rule a certain amount of handling including testing is required before shipment to a customer.
The handling of printed circuit boards also requires a certain degree of care, and sometimes such circuit boards also have frangible pins.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,235,797 to Boscia, et al, Feb. 15, 1966 for "Record Controlled Test Set and Magazine Therefore Having Frangible Finger Incoding Means" describes a magazine for use in testing printed circuits which affords some protection against damage to the pins.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,564,408 to F. G. Schulz, et al, Feb. 16, 1971 for "Test Device for an Electrical Circuit Card" also provides a fixture for receiving a printed circuit card and provides some degree of care for the pins or connectors.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,584,300 to Frank G. Schutz, et al, June 8, 1971 for "Platen-Patch Board Assembly With Spring Biased Electrical Contact Means to Effect Electrical Test on an Electrical Circuit Card" also describes a test apparatus with protected pins for testing printed circuit boards.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,915,850 to Joseph W. Crownover, Oct. 28, 1975, for "Component Handler and Method and Apparatus Utilizing Same" describes a handler for testing capacitive components.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,352,061 to John L. Matrone, Sept. 28, 1982 for "Universal Test Fixture Employing Interchangeable Wired Personalizers" describes probes contained within a platen. The probes move longitudinally between advanced or test positions and retracted positions. Posts advance the probes to test a printed circuit board. This patent also shows a center section sandwiched between two outer sections, but all three sections are of insulative or non-conductive material. Moreover, the smaller diameter registered holes of the center section have only a mechanical purpose in preventing intrusion of pins beyond their desired stroke.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,204 to Dehnel, et al, Nov. 22, 1983, for "Printed Circuit Board Tester and Adapter With Memory" describes an adapter for connecting each master printed circuit board to the tester and includes probes to make contact with the various circuit board nodes.